Here’s (Probably) Why Steve Austin Isn’t Wrestling Again
He wasn’t pleased. With WrestleMania 38 taking place in the massive AT&T Stadium over two nights, WWE is going to need everything they can find to make the show work. That is going to be easier said than done, as any company would have trouble coming up with something big enough to fill in a stadium on back to back days. WWE seemed to have an idea, but it didn’t wind up going through. Now we might know why.
During the latest edition of his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross discussed Steve Austin’s possible return to the ring at WrestleMania 38. Ross said that he had spoken to Austin, saying that Austin did not sound overwhelmingly enthusiastic about the idea. While Ross did not know for sure what Austin would do, he did not thing Austin would return to the ring as Austin is too much of a perfectionist to wrestle again on such short notice. Austin has agreed to appear at WrestleMania, but as a guest on the Kevin Owens Show rather than having an official match.
Here are some of Ross’ comments, with transcription courtesy of Wrestlingnews.co:
On Austin Returning To The Ring
“It looks like Austin is not going to do anything at WrestleMania as far as wrestling in the ring. He and I have talked, but at the time we talked, he didn’t know what he was going to do and he didn’t sound overwhelmingly enthusiastic about it.”
On Why He Doesn’t Think Austin Will Wrestle
“People have to understand that Steve is a perfectionist. Even though he stays in great shape and he looks wonderful, especially for a guy his age, he looks great. He can do a photo shoot and it looks like that can be Steve from any era, but that’s the athlete in him. He likes to train, eat right, and all those things.
“If he was going to wrestle at WrestleMania, and this is just me talking, I would suggest that it should have been decided six months ago, not only to build a story to that crescendo in Dallas at WrestleMania, but to give him time to train better and have more peace of mind. You know he’s going to hand pick his opponent.”
On Austin’s Mindset
“It all can change by the time people hear this. It could be the biggest announcement of the day, the trending news of the day, I have no idea, but I know him, and he doesn’t like surprises. He likes to prepare, and if anything, over prepare because he always wants to give the fans their money’s worth. He’s got a legacy that he’s built around the Stone Cold brand that he’s not going to purposely, or by his own hand, make himself look bad, and I don’t blame him.”
Opinion: While I don’t think there is anything surprising here, it is the kind of thing that is a bit more interesting from Ross’ perspective. Ross and Austin have been close for a very long time and Ross would have a better insight into what Austin is thinking than most. Austin will not be returning to the ring and that is probably the best decision, but at least we are getting to see him do something at WrestleMania.
What do you think of Ross’ thoughts? How will the WrestleMania segment go? Let us know in the comments below.
Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books
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